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Blog #1 Emergence of Modernity in Vienna in the 18th and 19th centuries- (Stephanie Coles 113352066)

Map 1: New and accurate main plan of the Key. Main and residential city Wienn (Vienna).Publishing Details: Wien : I. W. Heckenaer, [between 1739 and 1750] (accessed 4/10/15)

Map 1. depicts an 18th century historical map of Vienna when the medieval wall still surrounded the city. Most of Vienna was reconstructed during the 18th century after the Turkish Sieges of 1529 and 1683, and at this time ideas of modernity- ideas of beauty, control and order- began to take root in all parts of Europe. A good example of the emergence of modernity in Vienna at this time can be seen from the appearance of Palais, which were garden palaces that the nobility began to cover the surrounding landscape with, and created a new kind of public space, much like the public gardens of London.

Map 2. shows a 19th century historical map of Vienna. By 1827, utopian notions became the normal way of building cities in Vienna. At this point in time, Vienna was turned into a Baroque city. Baroque began in Rome and spread to most of Europe. Baroque art style is another example of the emergence of modernity in Vienna, as this architecture expressed grandeur, exuberance, drama and tension, and the aristocracy saw this architecture as a way of impressing visitors of Vienna and expressing power, order and control.

Map 3. depicts Vienna after the city destroyed and expanded beyond its medieval wall in the 1850s. At this point in time, Vienna would have had the first orderly and beautiful boulevards in Europe, which can be clearly seen from the map, and were a new kind of public space in Vienna. The existing Public Parks at this time are highlighted on this map in red. The first ring-road- the Ringstrasse- was constructed in 1827, and along this boulevard the aristocracy built beautiful palaces. In Schottering, an area where the wall once stood, more new public spaces were created in the form of galleries, boutiques, shops, and apartments for the wealthy. The new town hall and parliament building were built at the heart of the city in classical Palladion design. Vienna became a global influence.

Map 3: The city of Vienna. Published by: Letts’s popular atlas. Letts, Son & Co. Limited, London. (1883). (accessed 4/10/15)